According to the clauses of the contract signed by the government, no airport is allowed to come up within 150 kms radius, with the exception of airports at Mysore and Hassan which he dubbed anti-development.
Criticising the government’s decision to close HAL airport, Capt G R Gopinath of Deccan Aviation said it was a mistake to give a monopoly to BIAL. He was talking to the media on the sidelines of the Momentum, a tourism investor’s meet here on Thursday.
According to the clauses of the contract signed by the government, no airport is allowed to come up within 150 kms radius, with the exception of airports at Mysore and Hassan which he dubbed anti-development.
He said the projection in air traffic made during the time the contract was signed did not hold water, as the air traffic had exceeded the projection. Citing examples of London which had five airports and other European countries, he questioned the logic behind not allowing two airports to function in a city. “We should not lose one infrastructure to another, he said. This move may affect some short haul flights.
Capt Gopinath said with an investment of Rs 2 to Rs 3 crores a grass strip can be created where aircrafts can land. With an overall investment of Rs 60 to Rs 70 crores over a period of time from the government, many new destinations can be connected this way.
Talking about the poor connectivity to Bidar, he said Bidar must be connected by air atleast by the next year. He gave examples of projects stagnating due to the constant change in governments and bureaucrats.
HIGH COURT
‘Clarify stand on airport’
The High Court directed the Central government’s standing counsel to clarify the correct
position with regard to the use of HAL airport after opening the international airport at
Devanahalli.
The query came from the division Bench headed by Chief Justice Cyriac Joseph hearing a PIL by City advocate G R Mohan, who sought a direction to the Union Ministry of Civil Aviation and Bangalore International Airport Limited (BIAL) to retain HAL airport for short-haul domestic flights.The court adjourned hearing on the petition to February 20.
It's litumus test for the Governmen.Negative impact will be there on all infrastructure projects if the the existing airports are not closed as Government will be seem to he not honouring commitment
In hindsight we can talk about the restriction of 150 km being a wierd bad. Nobody expected this growth in India. At that point of time without this clause private investment in greenfield airport could have remain a distant dream.
by Ram on 2/15/2008 1:34:44 PM
Bangalore is a big metro city comparable to New York, Washington DC or San Francisco. These cities have atleast 3 airports. Big cities need more airports to handle the traffic. Another 5 years from now the current/upcoming airport will no longer be able to meet the demand, and airlines are going to charge higher for the tickets. How could a wise adminstration think about closing an exisiting, fully operational Aiport just to please BIAL. It is utter foolishness and against public interest.
by Karur R.Murthy on 2/15/2008 9:37:55 AM
It is a weird clause in the contract not to have two airports within 150Km. The thinking behind this cluse is not clear. Look at the airports around the world. Bangalore airport is already an establised airport. Use it. It is not a good idea to close. Believe me, Bangalore may require a third airport in future or atleast additions to the existing airports.
by mehandra on 2/15/2008 9:27:43 AM
since the the construction of new airport, this topic could have been debated in public, as many BIG CITIES has more than one airport like NEW YORK, CHICAGO, LONDON and so on; The government and airlines should aggree on what kind of services can be offered at the existing HAL airport, without compremising on the new airport traffic and revenue. With in 2-5 years, the traffic at new airport will exceed the capacity, then the government will try to reinvent the wheel.... Sad day the bangalore
by Nag on 2/15/2008 7:18:36 AM
It would be best to keep the HAL airport as part of disaster recovery for various reasons at the main airport and also help with traffic distrubution.
by rpandit on 2/15/2008 4:47:20 AM
I do not quite understand why everyone is complaining about the closure of the HAL airport now. This was made public a long time ago as one of the terms for building the new airport. What is more apalling is that very little attention is drawn to the fact that there has been no thoughtful planning with accessibility for the new airport. One does not start talking about high speed rail link from the new airport to the city when the first international flight is on its final landing approach!
by Richard Batton on 2/15/2008 1:37:54 AM
yes i too agree of retaining of HAL airport for domestic use. hence bangalore will have a name which is operating 2 airports. As bangalore is expanding rapidly as per international standings my view of have a domestic and international is right. please retain our old HAL airport as our public demand.
I agree HAL has to be retained in the interest of the public and it s proximity to different domestic flight connections to hubli,mysore,hassan etc., The concept of no airport within a radius of 150 km should be challenged! There are many international airports having smaller airports within 20 km radius. If they can operate , then why not this HAL airport. If one can visit Nairobi domestic airport , you will be amazed with the domestic flight movements for every 10 minutes. hence retain HAL
